When you’re new to photography and learning by experience, avoiding these mistakes will help you learn great photo composition.

Unknown Subject.
Have you ever looked at an image and not known exactly what you’re supposed to be looking at? Make sure your subject is clearly the main focus. Zoom in or ensure there isn’t a lot of clutter around the main point of the photo.

Bad Lighting.
Try to eliminate multiple light sources. For example, if you are taking a photo indoors, you could have light coming from multiple directions, the window, the ceiling light, the TV, etc. this leaves you with clashing light colors. Try using the flash or reflectors to remedy the unevenly lit scene.

Red Eye.
Red eye is caused by light from a flash that is close to the lens entering the subjects pupils and bouncing off the rear of the eye back into the lens. The best way to prevent this is to point the flash towards a wall or ceiling, this prevents direct flashback.

Too much photo editing.
Over-saturation is a big no-no. Yes, I am sure there was a time, when the fad was funky over-saturated photos, but you should be going for timeless. The only thing that should give away what year the photo was taken is the subjects clothing styles! Also, be careful when working with contrast, especially if you are shooting on a bright sunny day. Take a couple photos with slightly different settings to see what makes the difference.

Blur.
One of the top complaints from new photographers is that some of their images come out blurry. This is usually because there isn’t enough light reaching the sensor, so the camera struggles to take a sharp image. Another cause for blurry photos is an unsteady hand. A couple good solutions include, choosing a higher ISO setting and using a tripod.